Unanimous support passed for Regina RCMP Depot despite report recommendations

Opposition Leader Carla Beck’s motion to oppose the closure of province’s RCMP Depot unanimously passed at the Saskatchewan Legislature on Monday.

Anyone hoping to become an RCMP officer in Canada must go through training at the depot in Regina.

A new Mass Casualty Commissions report recommended the phasing out of the Regina Depot by 2032 and implementing a degree-based system that could be done across the country, rather than only in Regina.

“The future of the RCMP and of provincial policing requires focused re-evaluation,” read the report.

That was one of the comments made in the long-anticipated MCC final report into the 2020 Nova Scotia Shooting, which spans more than 3,000 pages.

Over the course of 13 hours on April 18-19, 2020, a gunman killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman, across three Nova Scotia counties. He was at times dressed like a Mountie and driving a replica RCMP vehicle.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern Canadian history.

“The tragedy in Portapique, Nova Scotia led to a necessary and thoughtful review of the RCMP,” said Beck.

“While we oppose the closure of Depot, we welcome improvements that lead to more transparent, open and honest policing, including training that sets up RCMP officers for better relationships with the communities they serve and, in particular, with Indigenous people.”

Christine Tell, minister for Corrections, Policing, and Public Safety said she thought the recommendation was a little bit harsh, noting the history of the depot.

“The RCMP are going to have to be trained, training will continue, whatever form that looks like and so why not continue using a training facility that is already here in Regina and has history and has been here for a long time? I think that the report actually suggested that they spread out training throughout the country,” said Tell.

“Training needs to change as our times change. You can’t stick with the ’70s model and continue teaching those types of things because society has changed.”

Beck noted that closing the depot would involve the loss of more than 500 jobs.

“The RCMP Depot has been an important job creator in our province for decades,” said Beck. “We can’t afford to see it phased out. There’s already a shortage of officers and our province is dead last in Canada in terms of job growth. This would be a devastating loss to the city of Regina and to the province.

“There is a way to incorporate the (report) findings and incorporate those into a path that sees depot in a new and improved way right here in Regina.”

— with files from Global News’ Andrew Benson

2:05 Recommendation to phase out RCMP Depot in Regina: N.S. Mass Casualty Commission report